Description

In this international bestseller, discover the number one practical guide to family life. Parenting experts Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish provide effective step by step techniques to help you improve and enrich your relationships with your children. Learn how to: * Break a pattern of arguments * Cope with your child's negative feelings * Engage your child's co-operation * Set clear limits and still maintain goodwill * Express your anger without being hurtful * Resolve family conflicts peacefullyshow more

About Adele Faber

Internationally acclaimed experts on communication between adults and children, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish have produced a body of work that has won the gratitude of parents and the enthusiastic praise of the professional community. Their first book, LIBERATED PARENTS/LIBERATED CHILDREN, was selected by the Book of the Month club and received the Christopher Award. Their subsequent books, HOW TO TALK SO KIDS WILL LISTEN & LISTEN SO KIDS WILL TALK and SIBLINGS WITHOUT RIVALRY (#1 on The New York Times bestseller list) have sold over three million copies and have been translated into over thirty languages. Adele and Elaine both live on Long Island in the USA. Find them at www.fabermazlish.com.show more

Review quote

Mumsnet Best Awards 2011 - Best parenting book 'An excellent book for reassessing the way you talk to your children and, as one said, "putting it into practice isn't as hard as I imagined and the children respond so, so well".' - Mumsnet, January 2011 'The ultimate sensible parenting guide.' - Prima Baby 'The most useful book i read when my children were young.' - Lesley Garner, The Telegraph 'A down to earth guide to shaping the parent-child relationship and resolving family conflicts.' - The Guardianshow more

Customer reviews

This is a parenting book NOT JUST about how to talk and listen respectfully with your children. It is also about problem-solving together and ultimately about getting away from "no" and power struggles with your children.
I admit, I bought it hoping for an "obedience manual" in how to get my children to do what I say. This book does that (kind of) but is much more than that as well. The first section is on "engaging your child's cooperation" and before I was finished the first chapter I was trying out the techniques - and getting more cooperation than I'd ever had before!
The next chapter is about "instead of punishment" and offers alternatives which teach children how to take responsibility for their own choices, and teaches them to clean up and make amends when things go wrong.
All the chapters are useful and very clear - I found I could use the skills immediately after reading the chapter (although more practice will certainly help as well). I liked the chapter on "praise" which is about moving away from non-specific "great" type comments and praising so that the child learns to appreciate their own work - ultimately making them independent of praise from adults and others.
So, even more than eliminating power struggles between parents and children, and even more than creating a harmonious home (which this book also does) it shows parents how to raise children into independent, responsible, thoughtful and empathic people. I'm pretty sure this is the last parenting book I'll ever need. Except that I'm buying another copy to loan out!show more